Alabama Soccer SEC Tournament Preview

Taking a look at Alabama's road to the final and what a good performance in Orange Beach can do for the Crimson Tide's NCAA tournament hopes.

Alabama Athletics

It’s tournament time for Alabama soccer as the SEC Tournament begins on Sunday at the Orange Beach Sportsplex in Orange Beach, Ala. 

Everything is now laid out in front of the Crimson Tide, as Wes Hart's team knows any loss can end its season. 

Alabama missed an opportunity to establish itself in the top six and secure a first round bye with its loss to Auburn in overtime in Tuscaloosa last weekend. After also losing to Vanderbilt on Thursday, 2-1, the Crimson Tide slipped into the 7 seed where it will have an Iron Bowl of Soccer rematch against the Tigers on Sunday.

“It’s disappointing because we had a few chances, a few home games, to wrap things up and finish as one of those top six seeds,” Hart said. “We can’t dwell on that now. We’ve got to just look forward.”

Alabama left the field last time it took on Auburn feeling as though it deserved more from the match. The Crimson Tide outshot the Tigers 29-10 in the match, placing 12 shots on target, opposed to Auburn’s seven. 

The Crimson Tide also held an 11-0 advantage in corner kick attempts, an area where Hart will certainly be expecting to find greater success going forward. 

Despite the statistical dominance from Alabama, Auburn connected from distance on two occasions, once in the 32rd minute through Hailey Whitaker, and again in the 62nd through Rocio Sanders. Alabama was forced to find equalizers, which came in 59th and 69th through Carlee Giammona and Carly Wyatt. 

The golden goal rule in overtime prevented the Crimson Tide from having the opportunity to fight back a third time and Sydney Richard’s 108 minute goal gave Auburn the win. 

Without the three points in this match, Auburn would have missed out on the SEC tournament and Tennessee would have edged out the Tiger’s for the 10 spot. Alabama, with the three points, would have pushed into the top six where it would secured a first-round bye and faced No. 17 Texas A&M in the quarterfinals.

“Our game from here on out is a one-game season,” Hart said. “We play Auburn, which is a match up that I love to play and got to believe they’re going to be excited about that too. It should be a fun first round in Orange Beach.”

Should Alabama defeat Auburn on Sunday, their next match would be against Arkansas, the top-seeded team in the tournament and ranked No. 6 in the nation. 

The Crimson Tide faced the Razorbacks earlier this season on Sept. 27 where it lost 1-0 on the road to the then No. 16-ranked team. Arkansas scored its goal early on, finding the back of the net in the sixth minute. 

The Crimson Tide was extremely convincing going forward in this match, pressing high up the field and keeping the Razorbacks pinned in their own half for much of the match, but failed to convert the chances that resulted. The Razorbacks have notable results this season over three ranked opponents, including then No. 1 North Carolina.

“I’m excited, obviously we didn’t make it last year so one of my goals this year was I just wanted to get there,” junior forward Casey Wertz said. “I just wanted to win one game. I’m just so excited to be here. It’s such an honor.”

Potential opponents for the Crimson Tide, should it advance past Arkansas, include a rematch with the Commodores in the semifinals. Vanderbilt faces Florida in its quarterfinal matchup.

In looking ahead to Alabama’s chances of an NCAA tournament bid, the Crimson Tide currently sits 34th in the NCAA Women’s Soccer RPI rankings. The NCAA tournament, much like March Madness, invites 64 teams to its competition, with 31 conference champions receiving automatic invites to the tournament and 33 at-large teams being selected by the NCAA Division I Women’s Soccer Committee. 

The Crimson Tide seems to be in a good position to receive a bid if the season were to end today, with 11 teams ranked ahead of it from different conferences. 

Should Alabama win its rematch against Auburn in the first round of the SEC Tournament, it should feel very confident come Nov. 11 when the tournament field and bracket are announced during the selection show.

Alabama’s match against Auburn will kick off the SEC Tournament at 1 p.m. on Sunday.